When you hear the term “SEO,” you probably think about improving your google ranking.
But I have a secret: getting the #1 Google ranking probably shouldn’t be your biggest SEO goal.
Let me ‘splain:
- Lacy is an incredible content strategist & runs a copywriting agency. A few years ago she wrote a post called “how much should a copywriter cost?” And now she ranks for that phrase.
The problem? Anyone who’s searching for that phrase is probably looking for their first copywriter and doesn’t have the budget for her high-touch method. So while she gets plenty of traffic from that post, those readers almost never become clients. - Rachael teaches people to create custom skincare products. She wrote a blog post about how hormones impact your skin and trigger melasma, and it started getting tons of traffic from people suffering from melasma.
The problem? These people weren’t looking for skincare support; they were looking for medical advice … which is NOT Rachael’s specialty. She ended up taking the post down to re-align her search traffic with her expertise. - About a year ago, I started using Dubsado as my client management system. I saw lots of posts around Facebook of people looking for a CRM solution, so rather than write the same message about my experience with Dubsado in all those posts, I wrote it once as a blog post that I could share.
Turns out — people LOVE this post, and now a lot of my search traffic comes from people looking for Dubsado reviews. You see the problem, I’m sure: I’m not a systems expert, and these readers aren’t looking for SEO help, so this doesn’t lead into an obvious sale opportunity. There’s a huge disconnect between what they’re searching & what I’m selling.
(BUT I keep it up because (a) these people are growing their businesses and looking for ways to simplify their processes, so they might also be interested in SEO, and (b) I freakin’ love Dubsado.)
I hear these stories all the time …
- a design firm ranking for a Scottish peat moss;
- a copywriter ranking higher for “dirty live holes” (ick) than website content strategy;
- a nutritionist ranking higher for gingerbread cookie recipes than picky eating support;
- a social media strategist ranking higher for a juice cleanse review than Instagram tips.
So it doesn’t really matter if you’re on Page 1 of Google if your topic isn’t what you want to be known for.
But if you want to be found for what you’re offering? You need to have a strategy.
When you’re planning what to write about, consider these factors: (a) topic identifies what makes you unique (b) post discusses your ideal client is searching for, and (c) doesn’t already have 1.5 billion listings that you have to compete with.
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